Imperial Legions

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Imperial Legion

The Imperial Legions were the military units directly under the command of the Emperor, although in his absence, either the Emerald Champion or Shogun might serve as their leader. [1] These members and commanders of these legions were drawn from all of Rokugan. [2]

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Roughly ninety percent of the Legions are away from the Imperial City at any given time. These Wandering Legions fulfilled duties such as patrolling the roads, protecting Tax Collectors, or providing protection for areas of critical importance. [3]

During the Hantei dynasty, there were fifty Imperial Legions. Ten of these were the Emerald Legions directly under the Emerald Champion's command. [5] As the Right Hand of the Emperor the Lion Clan Champion might take command of the Legions when the Emerald Champion's other duties demanded his attention. [3]

During the Scorpion Coup the Emerald Legions suffered great losses, reamining one-fifth their former strength. The lack of an Emerald Champion and the illness of the Emperor Hantei XXXIX slowered their rebuilding. [7]

When Toturi I took office, the Imperial Legions had become unmanageable. Out of 400 legions on paper, none of them had more than 5,000 men and only 50 were useable, so Toturi reorganized them. [5] He appointed many of the former members of Toturi's Army to be Legionnaires, and six of the ten Legions had ronin commanders. [9]

Near the end of the struggle against Iuchiban, Emperor Toturi III reorganized the Imperial Legions and allowed the clans to each nominate a commander from their ranks to lead one legion. [10] After the death of Iuchiban in 1166 the Emerald Magistrates continued to enforce the Emperor's laws, but the Imperial Legions followed the orders of the Shogun Kaneka. [11]

In 1200 the fall of the First Seal after the Battle of the First Seal caused a surge of massive beasts from the Sea of Shadows. The Mantis were placed on the defensive. [15] Makoto reported to Iweko II that she had drafted a decree calling for the mobilization of the Imperial Legions. [16] Eventually the three Sacred Seals, the barrier between Ningen-do and Jigoku, were found and destroyed. With the breaking of the seals the forces of Rokugan suffered devastation on a scale not before seen. To try and stem the advance of Jigoku, Iweko II formed the remainder of his forces into two grand Imperial Legions. [17]

The Imperial Legions operated as ten separate armies rather than proper "legions". Each consisted of at least 10,000 bushi, with the possibility to summon another 10,000 in a crisis. [5] There were ten divisions in each Legion, each headed by a taisa, and five divisions supervised by a shireikan. The shireikan in turn reported directly to the Legion commander, who was considered the equivalent of a rikugunshokan for the purposes of making command. [18] Membership in the Legion generally lasted for a renewable term of six years. A Legion might be granted permission by the Emperor to conscript additional local ashigaru to further swell its numbers. [19] Only the Lion and Unicorn Clans had the ability to muster comparable forces with ease. The composition and style of the different Legions varied greatly depending on the styles of their commanders. [20]

Of all the Legions, the finest were the First to Tenth Legions, which were known as the Emerald Legions. Fully half its membership were ultra-rich children of powerful families, granted their posts through no merit of their own. The remainder were the finest warriors in all of Rokugan. [21]

The First Legion was the first among equals of the Imperial Legions, as was shown by Kitsu Dejiko's "promotion" from the Seventh Legion Commander to First Legion Commander. It has had many prestigious commanders, among them the daughter of an Emperor and a future Scorpion Clan Champion. It had no specialization per se and was the most flexible of the legions. [20] The First Legion drew his ranks from every Great Clan, but the vast majority of samurai gathered here today wore the bright blue of the Crane and the fiery orange of the Phoenix. [22] In 1152 they defeated yobanjin riders near Yushosha Seido Mura. [23] They protected Kyuden Seppun in 1159 from the Shadowlands who survived the Fall of Otosan Uchi. [24] Following Tsudao's death in 1160 the First Legion was disbanded for seven days to mourn her passing. After a week's time, Toturi Miyako invited all of the Sword's former soldiers to the Imperial Capital to join the new First Legion and renew their oaths to the Emperor. [25] In 1165 was sent to Toshi Ranbo to keep order after the fire which consumed part of the Lion side, [26] making the capital its headquarters. [18] In 1170 Dejiko was still her commander. [27]

The Seventh Legion's style resembled that of the Matsu family's approach to war, something that was instilled in it by Kitsu Dejiko and maintained by her successor Toturi Shigekawa. [20] Stationed at Kyuden Seppun, it was second only to the Ninth in the number of cavalry that it could field. [42] Resolute and honorable to the last, the officers and warriors of the Seventh Legion often find themselves promoted to join the First Legion. [43]

The Tenth Legion drew heavily from the Dragon, making great use of various monastic [49] and unarmed combat styles. Its basic structure was unaltered. [20] This practiced slowly died after Suguhara resigned and Ishino succeded him. [27]

Sources ConflictThe sources relating to this article are in conflict with each other.

1st Legion commander at the time of the Battle of Toshi Ranbo is uncertain. Some sources as Fealty and Freedom page 121 claim it was Toturi Shigekawa the appointed commander, while the fiction The Empire Besieged and Emerald Empire page 218 claim it was Kitsu Dejiko. I guess Dejiko was 1st Legion Commander and Shigekawa 7th Legion Commander, but the sources don't match with it. I will modify the pages in the best way I can manage. Oni no Pikachu (talk) 11:40, December 19, 2013 (UTC)